Wednesday, November 20, 2013

James H. Charlesworth & Craig A. Evans - The Pseudepigrapha And Early Biblical Interpretation


This book contains a number of well-written essays on the "Old Testament" "Pseudepigrapha" and how such works were first interpreted. The insights to I Enoch and Jubilees, along with 4 Ezra and various books of the Apocrypha were particularly enlightening.

It is interesting to note the possible (dis)connection between the Apostle Paul and his theory of sin entering the world through one man and the teaching in the book of Sirach that sin enters the world through the woman. Perhaps both are true? Or, perhaps, Paul was trying to address an issue that he felt was untrue?

This is one of the books that puts early Christianity in its context more than many of the others because works such as Sirach are, in this book, evaluated as being just as important and relevant as the "canon" of Scripture itself.

For those interested in early Christianity, early Judaism, the "canon" of the Bible, and the writings of the New Testament in the context they were written in, this is an essential piece of literature to have.

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Monday, September 23, 2013

Craig A. Evans & Peter W. Flint - Eschatology, Messianism, And The Dead Sea Scrolls


Scholarly interest in intertextuality remains as keen as ever. Armed with new questions, interpreters seek to understand better the function of older scripture in later scripture. The essays assembled in the present collection address these questions. These essays treat pre-Christian texts, as well as Christian texts, that make use of older sacred tradition. They analyze the respective uses of scripture in diverse Jewish and Christian traditions. Some of these studies are concerned with discreet bodies of writings, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, while others are concerned with versions of scriptures, such as the Hebrew or Old Greek, and text critical issues. Other studies are concerned with how scripture is interpreted as part of apocalyptic and eschatology.

Early Christian Literature and Intertextuality includes essays that explore the use of Old Testament scripture in the Gospels and Acts. Other studies examine the apostle Paul's interpretation of scripture in his letters, while other studies look at non-Pauline writings and their utilization of scripture. Some of the studies in this collection show how older scripture clarifies important points of teaching or resolves social conflict.

Law, conversion, anthropology, paradise, and Messianism are among the themes treated in these studies, themes rooted in important ways in older sacred tradition.

The collection concludes with studies on two important Christian interpreters, Syriac-speaking Aphrahat in the east and Latin-speaking Augustine in the west.

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Friday, September 13, 2013

Craig A. Evans & N. T. Wright - Jesus,The Final Days


What do history and archaeology have to say about Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection? In this superb book, two of the world's most celebrated writers on the historical Jesus share their greatest findings. Together, Craig A. Evans and N. T. Wright concisely and compellingly convey the drama and the world-shattering significance of Jesus' final days on earth.

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Craig A. Evans & Danny Zacharias - Early Christian Literature And Intertextuality-Vol 1-Thematic Studies


Scholarly interest in intertextuality remains as keen as ever. Armed with new questions, interpreters seek to understand better the function of older scripture in later scripture. The essays assembled in the present collection address these questions. These essays treat pre-Christian texts, as well as Christian texts, that make use of older sacred tradition. They analyze the respective uses of scripture in diverse Jewish and Christian traditions. Some of these studies are concerned with discreet bodies of writings, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, while others are concerned with versions of scriptures, such as the Hebrew or Old Greek, and text critical issues. Other studies are concerned with how scripture is interpreted as part of apocalyptic and eschatology.

Early Christian Literature and Intertextuality includes essays that explore the use of Old Testament scripture in the Gospels and Acts. Other studies examine the apostle Paul's interpretation of scripture in his letters, while other studies look at non-Pauline writings and their utilization of scripture. Some of the studies in this collection show how older scripture clarifies important points of teaching or resolves social conflict.

Law, conversion, anthropology, paradise, and Messianism are among the themes treated in these studies, themes rooted in important ways in older sacred tradition.

The collection concludes with studies on two important Christian interpreters, Syriac-speaking Aphrahat in the east and Latin-speaking Augustine in the west.

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Friday, September 6, 2013

Craig A. Evans - Jesus And The Ossuaries


In this book, Craig A. Evans helps all readers, expert and layperson alike, understand the importance this recent find might have for the quest for the historical Jesus and any historical reconstruction of early Christianity. Evans does this by providing an overview of the most important archaeological discoveries, before examining nine other inscriptions (six on ossuaries, three on stone slabs) that pertain in one way or another to thehistorical Jesus. He then surveys the arguments for and against the authenticity and identification of the recently discovered James Ossuary. Evans concludes his volume with a measured consideration of the historical value of the archaeological data afforded by the several inscriptions.

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